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“A Compelling Truth” Shines a Spotlight on Racial Justice | News, Sports, Jobs
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“A Compelling Truth” Shines a Spotlight on Racial Justice | News, Sports, Jobs


“A Compelling Truth” Shines a Spotlight on Racial Justice | News, Sports, Jobs


LAKE PLACID — The 2024 Lake Placid Film Festival will present the award-winning documentary “A compelling truth” from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

The film focuses on the unusual friendship between Jimmie Lee Kirkpatrick and Hugh. “Of” Kirkpatrick. The screening will be accompanied by a panel discussion bringing together its director/producer and members of the community working on racial justice.

Running, football and education

“A compelling truth” tells their story. The two were high school classmates in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the 1960s, during a time of deep racial strife for the nation.

Jimmie, who is black, was a standout football player in high school, but – despite a high school football career that was among the best in North Carolina during those years – was not chosen for the team. he 1965 state all-star, which many coaches and observers at the time considered a racist snub.

Julius Chambers – a prominent civil rights attorney at the time – represented Jimmie and filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that he was discriminated against, on the basis of his race, when he was passed over during selection . Until 1965, no black player had ever been named to the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, which is supposed to bring together the highest caliber senior football players from both states.

Jimmie ultimately won his civil rights case, but the ruling came too late to change the All-Star Game roster that year. The Shrine Bowl saw its first racially integrated team in 1966. Jimmie went on to play football at Purdue University. Injuries and continued discrimination were among the factors that caused Jimmie to drop out of school.

He moved to Oregon, where, after working as a lumberjack and living on communes, he eventually returned to the classroom. He earned a master’s degree in teaching and worked in the education field as a high school administrator for 25 years, according to a 2017 interview he gave.

Although they weren’t close to each other in high school, De, who is white, was moved by Jimmie’s discrimination and his quest for justice. The case angered white segregationists in Charlotte at the time, who responded with death threats and a series of acts of physical violence, including several bomb explosions.

De wrote about this in his college application essay. He attended Harvard College, where he eventually earned a doctorate in psychology, which he did for 37 years, according to his website.

Friends through trauma

The two crossed paths again in 2014. Jimmie, after researching his ancestors, discovered that De’s ancestors were slave masters who owned his ancestors. He held out his hand. The two started talking. They became friends, a connection that might have been hindered by anger or guilt over what was – for both men – a deeply painful historical connection.

“A compelling truth” tells their stories and explores a friendship that blossomed against all odds. The film was directed and produced by Louise Woehrle. The Minnesota-based filmmaker is making her fourth appearance at the Lake Placid Film Festival, where she has won twice “Best Documentary” for some of his past work.

Woehrle has stated that his motivation as a filmmaker came from his desire to “to shine a light” about stories that help people learn from each other and, therefore, produce concrete social change for the better.

She said that too often people are hesitant to discuss racial justice because of a sense of shame surrounding her history.

“We can have this tendency to wonder, ‘Isn’t this behind us now?’ »Can’t we just move on? » she said on Sunday.

Woehrle said that while she understands where this feeling comes from, the soul of the country cannot fully heal unless people accept – rather than ignore – a racial history that is painful and troubling, but that is so fundamental to the nation’s history, and how it impacts who we are today.

“After seeing this film, I am amazed and truly pleased to see how open people are to sharing their own feelings about their own biases or lack of understanding,” she said.

Woehrle gave the example of a black church congregation and a white church congregation screening the films and holding workshops, then coming together to discuss what they learned.

“The conversation is safer and less charged. People listen to each other. » she said.

Woehrle said she took care when producing the documentary to make sure it didn’t give the audience the impression that it was trying to preach or impose an ideology on them. Grace, forgiveness and goodwill are all essential to this learning, she said, adding that just as Jimmie and De became unlikely friends, she saw the same thing when audiences came together.

“It brings communities together” she said.

Woehrle said she was most proud of the film’s ability to translate ideas into action.

“The vision I had was that this story would impact people in such a way that they would receive it and be moved by it.” she said. “Something we said while making the film was, ‘We want maximum impact.'”

“A compelling truth” is being screened at several film festivals this year and is expected to be broadcast next year on Public Service Broadcasting channels nationwide, according to Woehrle.

She added that people interested in watching and learning from the film as part of an educational, faith or civic group do not need to wait for its full release in 2025. She said they can contact her at his company’s website. , whirlygigproductions.comto receive access.